Unearthed
by Sioph
Summary: Graham finds himself alive and with a new heart but wants to find Emma and continue where they had left off but first he as to get her to believe that he is real. Rated M for future reference
1. Chapter 1

It was as if he had been punched in the chest with an electric rod as a sharp pain hit Graham in his hollow chest where his heart should have been. The pain was unbearable, almost like having his heart crushed for the second time, but different as in it did not feel as cruel as his death had. Had it not been for the wooden box that confined him, Graham would have rolled around in agony but instead lurched forward in torment causing his head to connect with the solidity of the box. After a while all he could hear in the pitch black darkness was the slow but steady beating of a new heart that had somehow formed in his chest. The pain was still with him and every time that the new heart beat caused a stab of a new form of pain in his chest. Not long after the new heart's first beat, Graham felt the pain moving like liquid along with the new blood through his veins until it reached his brain, making his eyelids bolt open. There was nothing but black all around him. The limited moving and darkness had made he former sheriff wonder where he was before the memory of his death shortly returned to him, as well as all his others.

While the heart beat for its first few times Graham steadied his panicked breath along with its beats to calm him down but the oxygen in the confined space would not last very long. Slowly moving his arms up, he lifted the coffin open but the bright light from the afternoon sky was a shock to his eyes which had been covered in darkness which made him drop the lid. Keeping his eyes closed, he lifted the lid once more then waited a moment before slowly opening his eyes, to let them adjust to the bright day. Although better than before, the light was still a bit too bright and sensitive to his eyes but that didn't stop him taking a look around only to find that he stood in a six foot hole.

It was almost dark by the time he had managed to climb out of his grave and onto the grassy graveyard but it had left the sheriff tired, hungry, thirsty and covered in dirt and mud. Deciding to rest a while before thinking things through, he sat leaned against the headstone which had his name carved into it and breathed in the fresh new oxygen. He didn't really have to think about what he would do next, the answer came to him even before he had thought of the question.

Graham was going to do the only thing that made sense in his head.  
The only thing that seemed right.  
He had to go and find Emma.


	2. Chapter 2

Since returning to Storybrooke Emma had a lot on her mind. First, there was Henry who needed her protection against whatever Hook and Cora planned to do and, second, there was the subject of her parents which she had no clue how to deal with properly. Everything in Emma's head was just a jumbled up confused mess that kept turning over in her making making her almost sick with worry.

Turning up at the sheriff's department straight from climbing out of his own grave was not the best idea as when he finally made it to the department he was overwhelmed with nerves, hunger and thirst that he almost collapsed very close to the spot where he had onto the desk with such speed and strength that it made Emma's head snap towards the once dead sheriff. She could not believe her eyes and thought that, maybe, she had been daydreaming about him again. It didn't even take half a millisecond for Emma to fly out of her chair and rush to his side only to take a few steps back when she realized he wasn't a daydream but actually stood in front of her. "Wh...what...what are you?" She half screamed at him. Emma's reaction took Graham by surprise and he realized that he was stupid to think she would welcome him with open arms when he was supposed to be dead and literally looking as if he had just crawled up from the ground. Walking towards her in slow steady steps with his arms held up as if to say he where surrendering and to assure that he meant no harm.

"It's Graham," he said softly, "I was the sheriff and I'm human as far as I can tell. I even have a heart." Graham was close to her now, He knew it must be hard on her to see the person who died in the same building where they had died now suddenly alive. "Graham," he said slowly, "remember me?"

"You can't be Graham" she said moving back, away from him. Emma's eyes where wide and started to burn as she tried to fight the tears that where starting to form in the back of her eyes. "I watched you- I mean him- I watched him die. Right there," she said pointing to the space in between them where she had last saw him, "...I buried him." Emma mumbled as she tried to make sense of the whole situation.

"I know you watched me die, I remember it, I remember everything." There was nothing more that Graham wanted than to reassure Emma that he was real and himself and not some ploy sent to mess with her. "Please Emma," he said almost as if he where begging her, "I am me. I am Graham." Just saying that he was himself would not convince her, he had to prove it with something that only they would know. "My last words to you, my last words ever, was thank you. Then it happened." Saying his last words, and in the same spot, made his new heart squeeze but not in the excruciating way it had when it was crushed but more like a powerful sting. Emma winced at the memory but refused to let her guard down.

"I need more proof that you are who you say."

"What more proof do you need?" Graham said louder, and more agitated, "I am stood right in front of you. Living. Breathing. Here. I even told you my last words. That is something that only we would know. I only remember it so clear because it was the best and worst moment of my life."

"Best?" Emma asked thinking about how that night had been one of her worst.

"Best," Graham said moving closer to her but this time she stayed still, "my curse was broken but that isn't the reason. It's how it was broken. You kissed me. Your kiss broke my curse. It showed me you are my true love and it was the happiest feeling I have ever had. It was short but it was there. I felt it and I know you did."

It took Emma a few minutes to register everything he had said to her as she was slowly believing him. He sounded like Graham, looked like him and had the same memories. Even the memory that only they knew. She hasn't shared that with anyone. Not even with her parents. Like Graham said, it was a good feeling but it was also the worst when she thought about that particular memory. "I just need to be sure," she said quietly moving close to him placing her hand on his chest to make sure he had a heart. As she felt it beat beneath her hand relief flooded through her and she looked up at Graham wit the same smile she had when he told her that he remembered.

"I told you," he smirked looking down at her, closing his eyes as he lowered his head to her gently on the lips, finally starting to feel happy again now that she believed him.

"You still need to go to the hospital and get checked out," Emma said as her own heart pounded against her chest, "just to make sure you are ok and everything is fine."

"I will tomorrow. Right now I need a drink and food."


End file.
